Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: Brad Stuart

Spezza will need to be on the defensive Not long ago, Jeff Carter was the equivalent of Spezza — a talented but unanchored center with more promise than production. But Carter, ditched by Philadelphia, then by Columbus, has turned himself into an excellent three-zone center in Los Angeles under coach Darryl Sutter. Without Carter complementing Kopitar, the Kings don’t have two Cups in the last three years. Carter, formerly a shoot-first center, is more dangerous now that he’s committed to playing defense. Only time will tell whether Spezza, the ex-Senator, will resurrect himself similarly in Dallas. Spezza is a brilliant playmaker. But he’s never been considered defensively responsible. He’ll need to be with the Stars when he’s butting heads with Carter, Kopitar, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, David Backes, and Paul Stastny in the Western Conference.

Stuart’s contract a head-scratcher Brad Stuart is 34 years old. He has yet to play a single real game for Colorado, which acquired him from San Jose for draft picks. The ex-Bruin is 15 appearances short of hitting the 1,000-game threshold. In San Jose, Stuart’s teammates performed better when he was on the bench instead of on the ice. He is a high-mileage, defense-first defenseman. Stuart’s average ice time, 23:10 in 2009-10, has gone down each season (21:31 in 2010-11, 21:03 in 2011-12, 20:27 in 2012-13, 19:09 last year). Yet the Avalanche signed Stuart on Monday to a two-year, $7.2 million extension. The Avalanche have yet to see Stuart, who will likely be paired with Erik Johnson, under regular-season duress. Stuart will be 35 when his extension becomes effective in 2015-16, which means he will count against the cap if he retires. Players fitting Stuart’s profile (see Chris Phillips, Rob Scuderi) struggle as they progress through their mid-to-late-30s. It’s possible Stuart could be the exception. The Avalanche could have used this season to figure this out.

Like Avs players, Avs fans will soon appreciate having Stuart on their side. If nothing else, pay attention to Stuart's skating — his smooth, seemingly effortless stride gets him in position to make plays as well as anyone in the NHL.

"He's a really steady influence," said Erik Johnson, who is playing with Stuart as the Avs' top pairing. "He won a Stanley Cup in Detroit and has been on a lot of winning teams. He's approaching mid-30s, but he really skates well out there. If you can skate in the league you're going to be around for a long time, and he can definitely move."

Stuart came to Colorado from San Jose at a large cost: The Avs sent the Sharks a second-round draft pick in 2016 and a sixth-rounder in 2017. Stuart waived his limited no-trade clause to come to Colorado after the Sharks self-imploded again in the 2014 playoffs after taking a 3-0 series lead over the Los Angeles Kings, the eventual Stanley Cup champions.

"Yeah, I think it was a good time," Stuart said of getting out of San Jose, the team that chose him third overall in the 1998 draft. "They wanted to make, probably, more changes than they did. First thing I noticed here is, everything is positive; everybody is excited about the season. Reading some of the things going on (in San Jose), it's a little different atmosphere. I'm excited to be a part of this. It really feels good."

San Jose Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart will have a hearing Wednesday with the NHL Department of Player Safety for an incident during a game Tuesday night against the New York Rangers at SAP Center.

At 2:32 of the first period, Stuart was assessed a minor penalty for elbowing after a hit on New York forward Rick Nash.

Nash played several more shifts in the first period, but did not return after the first intermission.

The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline: illegal check to the head. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.

Watch the hit here... and comments from Nash are in the comment section of that link...

[T]he Minnesota Wild are reporting that netminder Niklas Backstrom is done for the night due to a similar problem.

Backstrom lasted just 11:14 minutes against the Nashville Predators and surrendered two goals on five shots. He sustained the injury when Nashville forward Eric Nystrom crashed into him and seemed to accidentally jam Backstrom’s leg against the post.

TSN's Bob McKenzie noted that Rick Nash left what is currently the Rangers' 7-2 loss to San Jose after getting hit high and hard by Brad Stuart...

Detroit, MI... Detroit Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Ken Holland today announced that the club has traded the rights for defenseman Brad Stuart to the San Jose Sharks. In return, the Red Wings received a conditional seventh round pick in the 2014 National Hockey League Entry Draft and forward Andrew Murray from the Sharks.

Both Stuart and Murray are set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Originally San Jose’s first round selection (3rd overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Stuart played five seasons for the Red Wings. He was acquired by Detroit from the Los Angeles Kings on February 26, 2008 for the Wings second round pick in 2008 and fourth round pick in 2009.

If Brad Stuart decides to play closer to home and Nick Lidstrom decides to re****, two of their top 4 defensemen will have to be replaced.

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

The Detroit Red Wings haven’t started contract talks with Brad Stuart because the defenseman hasn’t decided where his future lies—in Detroit or closer to his home on the West Coast.

If it were strictly a hockey-related decision, it would be easy, Detroit would be Stuart’s first choice. But his wife and kids, two young sons and a stepdaughter in high school, live in San Jose, and that is where they must stay.

So it has been difficult for Stuart being away from his family for long stretches, flying to the West Coast and back during breaks in the schedule.

“It is going to be a tough decision,” Stuart said. “It’s not going to be all based on hockey and what I want for my career. It’s going to be a little bit (about) family, which is important. Those are things I still have to kind of sort out, try to figure out what’s going to be best for everyone.”

Toronto (January 9, 2011) – Calgary Flames forward Tom Kostopoulos has been suspended for six games and will forfeit $29,569.92 in salary for delivering a blow to the head of Detroit Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart in NHL game #609 on January 7, the National Hockey League announced today.

“A number of factors were considered in reaching this decision,” said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. “Kostopoulos delivered a blow to the head of an unsuspecting and vulnerable player. As well, he targeted the head of his opponent and, while the hit was not from the blindside, the head was the principle point of contact.

The fact that Brad Stuart was not in possession of the puck when the blow was delivered and the serious nature of the player’s injury were also considered in my decision.”

Kostopoulos’ fine is based on his average annual salary and is calculated under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The incident occurred at 10:07 of the third period. He was assessed a minor penalty for roughing on the play.

Kostopoulos will miss games Jan. 11 at Carolina, Jan. 14 at Ottawa, Jan. 15 at Toronto, Jan. 17 at Montreal, Jan. 19 against Minnesota and Jan. 21 against Dallas. He is eligible to return Jan. 22 at Vancouver.

It won’t hurt as much as the shoulder check you issued to the jaw of Red Wings defenceman Brad Stuart Friday that will have the NHL’s wheel of justice turning right into this morning’s 11 a.m. conference call hearing.

But it’ll leave a mark for sure as your blatant blindsiding is sure to cost you several games and quite a few sheckles as one of the NHL’s repeat offenders.

Sadly for you, the hit comes on the heels of yet another headshot debate sparked by the recent concussion suffered by Sidney Crosby.

While Stuart was being examined by doctors who debated the merits of surgery on the broken jaw (they opted not to operate and simply wired his mouth shut), disciplinarian Colin Campbell and the league refused comment pending the result of the hearing.

What is decided today could be a landmark ruling for a Rule 48 offender.

Detroit defenceman Brad Stuart left the game halfway through the third and did not return. He got bowled over by Tom Kostopoulos right beside the Red Wings net and when the training staff finally helped him to his feet, a giant pool of blood was left behind.

Video Review: Anaheim at Detroit - 14:00 of the first period
05.03.2009 / 02:38 PM ET

Video Review -Anaheim at Detroit, 14:00 of 1st period - Hockey Operations used video review to determine if Detroit player Stuart used a distinct kicking motion (the fact that the puck bounced off Anaheim defenseman Wisniewski before going in the net is not a factor - Rule 49.2 states “A kicked puck that deflects off the body of any player of either team shall be ruled no goal”). The decision of Hockey Ops was that Stuart did not use a distinct kicking motion - Good goal.

Rich Hammond at Inside the Kings spoke with Kings GM Dean Lombardi tonight. Some highlights from that conversation:

—The Kings were right there on Brad Stuart, and apparently didn’t have a problem with either the term or the money, but Stuart decided that he wanted to play for the Red Wings. To this, Lombardi basically tipped his hat and said, ``I can’t blame him for that.’‘

—Lombardi still has his eye on a defenseman who, in his words, fits with both the present and the future. He’s not at liberty to name names, obviously, but I don’t think it’s hard to do some reading between the lines, right?

—Rob Blake is still there as a strong possibility, and discussions are ongoing.

The Hockey News has been archiving audio from the winner’s dressing room after each game.

Go here to hear Scotty Bowman share his thoughts, then scroll down the page and you’ll find links to commentary from Niklas Lidstrom, Brad Stuart, Valteri Filpulla and Johan Franzen.

On a related note, a comment from Paul that I thought I’d pass on:

After Babcock finished his post game press conference, he met with Scotty for about ten minutes, one on one, going over the game. How much of a help Bowman is to the Wings, we may never know, but it certainly cannot hurt to have Bowman use his “consultant” role to the fullest extent.

Stuart realizes he may have to give in when it comes to salary to stay in Detroit, but the results of the last 27 games for Brad seem to indicate the two sides should be able to get a deal done.

After Stuart was a minus-16 in his first 63 games in Los Angeles this season, the game plan in Detroit to take advantage of the defense’s mobility and skills certainly plays right into Brad’s wheelhouse.

“Coach Babcock spelled out what he wanted me to do, what my role was from Day 1,” Stuart acknowledged. “The game plan is what you would expect from a winning team like this: Keep it simple ... and if you see you can make a play or make a hit go ahead.”

This is a pretty good situation, but I’m not thinking about that right now,” Stuart said. “I’d like to see how it plays out, but I’d like to explore the possibility of staying. When the time comes, I’m definitely hoping to be here.”

While financial considerations will play a role in any negotiation, Stuart said the price of happiness isn’t always tied to money.

The native of Rocky Mountain House, Alta., has had his fill of losing since entering the NHL with San Jose and L.A.

“Winning definitely comes into play,” the 28-year-old Stuart said.

“Being on a losing team is not that much fun no matter what you’re being paid. Coming to the rink, to a winning environment and a positive atmosphere is definitely worth something.

“Those things are going to be something I think more about after we’re done (the season).”